Ready2Teach Transforms Teacher Preparation: A University of Memphis Success Story

The Ready2Teach program, a system wide initiative of the Tennessee Board of Regents, ignited a partnership between the University of Memphis College of Education and Memphis City, Shelby County, Jackson – Madison, and Tipton County schools in the fall of 2010. In that relatively short time it has become a successful program highly regarded by school administrators, teachers, and teacher candidates alike.

The program pairs University of Memphis education majors with hand-picked mentor teachers in K-12 schools that wish to participate in the program.  These candidates begin working with their mentors in the weeks preceding the start of the actual school year.  They are present at the schools all day during the first week of school to observe typical school day routines and get a firsthand idea of the work performed by professional teachers.  They are involved in setting up classrooms, preparing for student registration, and participating in in-service activities.  These real-world lessons cannot be easily replicated in university classroom settings.  Because the candidates spend an entire year with their mentor teachers, relationships develop that add immeasurably to the quality of their preparation to teach.

The success of the program can be judged best by the opinions of the teachers and students who have been involved in the program.  University of Memphis candidate Courtney Payne Barker says of her experience, “The observations during the Ready2Teach placement allowed me to see in which areas I was doing well, and to identify areas for growth.  The feedback given by my mentor teachers and by my university supervisors allowed me to improve my teaching by identifying areas to improve. Overall, the program taught me how to look at each student as an individual and to plan instruction based on research of how to effectively teach each student.”

Page Watson, principal of Bartlett Elementary School, said, “This is the second year Bartlett Elementary has partnered with the University of Memphis' Ready2Teach program.  Last year's experience was so rewarding for our faculty and the teacher candidates that we wanted an opportunity to have as many aspiring teachers come back to us.  These young people bring a wealth of knowledge regarding the new trends in education.  The information they share refreshes our seasoned teachers tenfold.  Our mentors, in turn, share valuable years of experience in those areas which do not come from books, such as classroom management, pacing and timing, instructional strategies, and parent-student-teacher relations.  If I could have my way, I would have had all the candidates from University of Memphis at Bartlett Elementary.”

Another supportive assessment of the program comes from Margaret Gilmore, instructional supervisor with the Shelby County Schools:  “Ready2Teach is the absolute best teacher preparation residency program I have ever witnessed in my 28 years in education… It is a two-fold blessing for both the district and University of Memphis. We are given the opportunity to partner our super star teachers with pre-service teachers and serve as mentors and coaches to a group of young people who have chosen this noble profession, and the university is building an excellent teacher preparation program.  Our district has hired some of these Ready2Teach teachers, and we feel that they are extremely prepared to walk into a classroom and actually teach."